Silly me, I want my Smith and Wesson refinished...recommendations?

[bill larry]

I have a cosmetically nasty, mechanically very sound S&W Model 1905 4th change .38 special that I just LOVE. It is accurate, it feels perfect in my hand, and the action is oh-so slick.

However, the gun only has about thirty percent of its original blueing left, and has lots of pitting along the barrel, the cylinder face, and areas of the frame under the original grips. There are some nasty scratches on the right side of the gun. Copious amounts of rust have been coming out from the Break-Free bath I gave it a while back, although the internal lock work itself is not affected.

The inside of the barrel ain't too hot either, but like I said, it's really accurate, so I can live with it being hard to clean.

I have (maybe foolishly) decided to get this gun refinished. It will be my one act of gun karma.

I have no intention of ever selling this gun, and I feel that it deserves a nice retirement to the occasional range trip and the back of my safe; instead of riding in the center console of my truck in a pile of dirty rags.

I need some recommendations! I have done some internet research and it seems the two "big name" places to have this work done would be Cylinder & Slide, or Ford's. Ford's seems a bit cheaper, but that is not my main concern. Any comments? I want as close to the original S&W blue as possible, although I don't know with the gun as pitted as it is if that's possible.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance...

 

[Liberty1776]

Bill,

I have a S&W 1917, (Brazilian 1937, actually), in the same shape - I"m getting mine done with Duracoat, as soon as I pick up my Ruger MK 1 from the refinisher. The only problem is which color to pick...

 

[Shade00]

Smith & Wesson.

 

[bill larry]

I am pretty sure Smith and Wesson will not touch this gun, as it's close to 90 years old.

 

[Mike Franklin]

Get a letter on the gun first just to see. And yeah, I've had S&W rebuild a M 29 for me twice, I was real hard on that gun. The price was right and the work was good.

Call S&W first and they'll tell you if they'll do the work.

 

[Shade00]

Wouldn't hurt to ask. If they won't do it, probably Ford's. They do fantastic work, from what I have seen. Probably get it done more quickly than Cylinder & Slide. There are a few more good ones - just can't think of them off the top of my head. Maybe APW? Cogan's?

 

[vanilla_gorilla]

Ford's

 

[nicholst55]

S&W won't work on guns older than the late 1950s. Ford's has an excellent reputation, as does Doug Turnbull. For the high polish blue that you're talking about, neither one will be inexpensive. Turnbull specializes in restoring the markings on collectible guns while restoring them, which is something to consider.

While it would certainly be nice to restore the gun to its former glory, I question if either the cost or the probable results will make it worthwhile. From the sounds of it, the polisher is going to have to do some serious work on it, which will probably destroy the markings. The results will likely look amateur in nature, simply because of the extensive polishing that will be required.

A more practical, and significantly less expensive option, would be to have the gun either bead or sand blasted, and then given a matte blue finish. This type finish will serve to help disguise some of the rust pitting and other blemishes.

It's your gun and your money, but I just can't see spending $300 or more to blue a $200 revolver.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Vote#2 for Fords. They can restamp the S&W logo if it's worn. They do outstanding work.

 

[Marcus84]

Pics?

 

[pogo2]

Pictures from Fords website

Here are a couple of shots of a S&W revolver refinished by Fords:

 

[Shade00]

I'd say that's mighty fine work.

 

[18DAI]

I only use Fords.

 

[machinisttx]

I suggest looking into the actual history of that particular gun prior to doing anything. I recently picked up what I thought was "just" a 1905 4th change M&P. Further information has identified it as an early Victory model.

 

[AJD]

Ford's

 

[win308]

It may not look like much on the outside, but Fords is the best:

 

[bluetopper]

See if there is a local smith who can do it at a reasonable rate.

My smith refinished and blued my model 15-4 for $80 bucks. I got the worst of the rust off and soaked it in vinegar to get the bluing off, but he disassembled/reassembled, put the finish on it and blued it.